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Re: Hummingbird behaviour



From my experience in my little section of the Piedmont of NC,
August-September is the only time I seem to have heavy hummer action
whereby all four flowers can be occupied simultaneously on my perky pet
feeders (shameless plug, Bill).  But it does happen here regularly at
this time.  I have four 8 oz. feeders spaced evenly about 2 feet apart,
and most recently have counted 20 either hovering or feeding
simultaneously.  At one point you indicated that this may be in part
because the male fledglings were too young to be actively protecting
territory, in addition to the influx of hummers passing through.  The
rainy, overcast weather we've been having also seems to spur activity
levels in early mornings and evenings.

Marsha Stephens
N.Chatham Co., NC

BILL HILTON JR. (Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History) wrote:
> 
> >Hi Randy,
> >The photos of the multiple birds at feeders are usually pics taken in the
> >western part of the U.S.  Several of the western species are much
> >more tolerant
> >of neighboring individuals than our beloved ruby-throats.  Some of
> >these western
> >feeding stations use reservoirs that hold gallons of water and
> >provide dozens of
> >perches!  Our ruby-throats are a little higher on the scale of aggressiveness.
> >You may, however, find that the local hummers will become more
> >tolerant later in
> >the year after the nesting is over.  I will occasionally see all four perches
> >occupied on my feeders.  Many of the birds being seen now are hatch year birds
> >that closely resemble adult females in plumage, which may help
> >explain why there
> >are more dominant "females" out there this time of year.  There are
> >simply more
> >female plumaged birds out there than there are adult males.
> 
> Steven Schultz is correct is stating that that many of the
> "multi-bird" photos are taken out West where there are more species
> and apparent greater tolerance. However, I think the tolerance may be
> based in part out of necessity because of  the "indefensible food
> source" concept.
> 
> In southeastern Arizona, many hummingbirds concentrate in the "sky
> islands"--the very scarce green valleys that have streams running
> through them (e.g., Ramsey Canyon or Madera Canyon). I've seen
> feeders in these locations surrounded by dozens--maybe hundreds--of
> hummingbirds, especially early in fall migration. It would be
> virtually impossible for any individual bird to dominate a feeder in
> these situations, so the smart thing to do would be give up, take
> your turn at the feeder, and chug down as much sugar water as you can
> before getting bumped off by the next thirsty hummer.
> 
> There are places here in the East where the same sort of thing
> happens. One such place is the North Carolina mountains, where there
> are fewer people and therefore fewer hummingbird feeders. Thus, when
> a  mountain-dwelling human puts out a feeder, it begins to attract
> birds from a wide area, and they sometimes come in such numbers that
> the feeder again becomes "indefensible." (Although I haven't been to
> see it, I understand Grandfather Mountain's visitor center has
> feeders that often have every perch taken by a bird.)
> 
> Down here in the Piedmont, the hummingbird population is spread out a
> bit more, and it's almost as if every suburban lot with a feeder has
> its own small complement of hummers. An adult male Ruby-throat can
> defend about a quarter-acre of property, and if there are only a
> dozen or so birds in the neighborhood, he can probably hold his own
> during the breeding season. It gets a lot harder along about August,
> however, because the local hummingbird population is at least doubled
> by new fledglings, and the backyard feeder may become indefensible.
> 
> Whatcha think?
> 
> BILL
> --
> P.S. I'll be banding hummingbirds during public presentations the
> first three weekends in August at Allison Woods (Statesville),
> Stacy's Greenhouses (York), and RibbonWalk (Charlotte). Details are
> on the websites (addresses below).
> 
> **********
> 
> BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
> Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
> 1432 DeVinney Road
> York, South Carolina 29745
> USA
> 
> e-mail: <hilton@hiltonpond.org>
> 
> Voice: (803) 684-5852
> 
> eFax: (503) 218-0845
> 
> Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is a 501(c)(3)
> non-profit research and education organization, so all in-kind or
> monetary gifts to Operation RubyThroat and the Center are
> tax-deductible. Please visit our websites:
> 
> Hilton Pond:  <http://www.hiltonpond.org>
> 
> Operation RubyThroat:  <http://www.rubythroat.org>
> 
> "Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
> watch the sunset."
> 
>                                                 BHjr.
> 
> **********